Have a little faith
by ThePoisonIvy
Summary: While the group is determined to go to Washington, Daryl wants to stay behind and look for Beth. And Beth herself is trying to run from the people that took her and find her family.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note**: English is not my first language and this is the very first story I've written in English, so please be patient with me. Also I'm pretending that the episode 5x08 did not happen.

**Have a little faith**

_With a crossbow in his hands he slowly followed the trail of footsteps in front of him. He didn't know how long he was tracking it, but it seems like maybe an hour. Another few minutes past, then he heard somebody approaching him from behind. He didn't hesitate and quickly turn, his crossbow still high enough to kill whoever was trying to sneak up to him._

_But when he saw that wide green eyes staring back at him, he lowered the bow a bit and he let out annoyed sigh. „The hell are you doin' here girl? Told ya to stay back in the camp."_

_She crossed her arms before her chest and frowned. „You also told me that you will learn me how to hunt, mr. Dixon."_

_Daryl sighed once more. „Not today."_

„_Why not?" She asked, pushing few of her loosen hair behind her ear. „I didn't want to stay in the camp all by myself."_

_He hesitated a bit. Beth was surprisingly a good learner. He showed her the basic, actually surprised on how quickly she was able to catch on. Daryl was still worried that she'll slow him down when it comes to actual hunting. But this time, it looks like he may not have a choice._

„_Come on then." Her face lit up with a hint of smile. Daryl didn't commented on it, neither did he say anything else, he just turned back and continue in tracking.  
__He heard her footsteps behind him, but she was obviously trying to go as quietly as she could. They didn't have to go too far ahead to find the dinner, they have been tracking. _

_A deer. A very big deer. And now also very dead and contaminated deer. „Son of a bitch." Daryl murmured under his beard as he watched a walker eating the remains of the deer._

_Beth catched up to him quickly and she stand next to him and silently watched. She didn't flinch, neither did she complain about the fact they're going to be, yet again, without a proper meal. „We should kill it." She suggested._

„_Nah. Waste of an arrow." Daryl started to turn to go back, when she spoke again._

„_I'll do it. Just lend me the crossbow." He stopped and looked back at her. „Ain't letting you my crossbow any time soon, Greene." He studied her face, to his surprise she almost looked disappointed. „Why not?"_

„_Maybe later. Once you learn how to hunt, properly."_

_There has been silence, they were both looking at each other, probably trying to guess what the other one is thinking. „Fine, keep that bow, I'll do it with my knife."_

_Before Daryl could even process what she said, she already turn her back to him and started marching right towards the walker and the deer. Daryl rolled his eyes, but he raised the crossbow and with well aimed shot killed the walker before Beth could even got too close. She turned back to him with surprised look on her face. „I could have done it by myself!" She raised her voice with a little anger in it. Daryl made a few steps closer to the walker and ripped out the arrow. „Yeah, I know."_

_He didn't say anything else, just turned and marched back to the woods, back to the camp they've both left. He didn't have to look back to know that Beth had followed him._

* * *

His eyes flung open and he had to adjust for a minute to actually remember where he was. In a church. With his family. But Beth wasn't here.

He stopped counting how many nights he had spent dreaming about the time they had together. Never actually thought he might miss it one day.

„You okay?"

Daryl turned his head to his left. It was still dark but he knew that the person asking was nobody else then Carol. „Mhmm-hmm."

„You don't seem okay."

„It's nothin'. Just a stupid dream, that's all."

Carol shifted and sit, leaning her back against one of the church chairs. She didn't speak, it was Daryl who broke the silence. „I ain't gonna go to no Washington." He remembered Rick promised Abraham that. He didn't think he was in any position to actually say anything in that moment so he kept silent. Rick was the leader of the group. He didn't need his help in deciding what is best for the group.

„Why not?"

Daryl thought that was a really stupid question. Surely Carol had to know the reason why he doesn't wanna go. Why he can't go. Maybe she just wanted to hear it from him, directly. „Beth." He said with an exhale. „Gotta find her."

„You think she's still in Georgia?"

Daryl bit his lip. There was no insurance she was even still alive. Even if she was still in Georgia, he didn't know where to start looking for her. But he felt responsible. It was his fault that Beth was taken by whoever took her. „Maybe."

„I'm gonna stay here. Look with you." Carol leaned forward and pat his hand. He didn't really know how to respond. She didn't have to stay with him, but of course she would. „Try to get some sleep." She added when she lied down again next to him.

„Mh-hmm." Daryl agreed, but he knew that he won't be able to sleep. Truth to be told, he didn't want to sleep. He knew that once he closed his eyes, Beth would haunt him. He was also afraid that one day, maybe he wouldn't wanna wake up.


	2. Chapter 2

„_I can't really tell how long has it been, sice I last saw my family. Since I last saw Maggie, since we fled the prison. But I know for a fact, it has been over a month since I last saw Daryl Dixon._

_When he told me to run, I should have stayed. But I didn't. _

_I don't know if he's still alive, or if I'll see him again. Him and Maggie. But I am finally gonna do it today._

_I'm gonna run away from here."_

* * *

Beth closed her diary and carefully put it into her back pocket. She stepped out of her tent and looked around. She bit her lip nervously. What if she get caught? "You can't think like that." she commanded herself as she started walking towards the big RV.

When Daryl told her to run, she hesitated for a second. She didn't wanna get separated and she didn't wanna leave his side. But there was too many walkers and she panicked. She turned and run out of the door towards the highway.

Two walkers got separated from the herd that was now attacking the funeral house. She pulled her knife and started to fight one of them. It took her longer then she expected, but she finally crushed his scull with her knife. Beth turned and wanted to take care of the second one, when somebody appeared in front of her and killed the walker instead.

At first she thought it maybe Daryl, but when the walker fell dead on the ground, she noticed her mistake. Right in front of her was a woman. She was a bit taller then Beth and definitely older. Beth wanted to thank her, for saving her life, but before she could manage to even make a sound, the woman made some hand gesture and two men came out of nowhere. They grabbed Beth and tossed her into a car nearby. She was so shocked she didn't even make any sound. All of them jumped into the same car with her and started driving away before she could stop them.

Daryl. That was the last thought she had before somebody hit her to her head and she lost consciousness.

* * *

When she woke up again, she was still in the car. But it wasn't moving anymore. Beth got out of the car and look around. She was in some sort of camp. Her head hurt and she found bulge in her hair, clearly somebody must have hit her pretty hard. What the heck was this place?

As if somebody could read her mind, the same woman that saved her, appeared in her sight. „Hello." Beth turned and looked at the woman. It was daylight so she could finally look at her properly. As she guessed from the short time they've seen each other, she was older. She had long black hair and quite a scar on her right cheek. Beth wondered what had happened to her, she wanted to ask but she stopped herself and istead she said. „Where am I?"

The woman smiled at her, although the smile was obviously fake. „You're safe."

„I didn't need your help."

„It sure didn't look like it. We saved your life."

Beth frowned and shooke her head „no. I didn't ask for any of your help. Where. Am. I?"

„In a survivor camp Georgia. We go and find people that are in trouble. Then we take them here and they join our system."

„And if I don't want to join jour system?"

For the first time the woman's face actually flicked and Beth's words erased the smug smile off her face. „What? You think you would be better off out there? You wouldn't last one day on your own."

Beth wanted to scream at her that it's not true, that she would have been alright and that they had no right to take her from the man she was with. „I would be fine." She just said. She didn't want to admit that her words flicker a sparkle in her. What if she is right? How long would she last without Daryl? And where was he? Surely he wasn't here. Was he still alive?

The woman obviously saw a bit weakness she sparkled inside of Beth because she smiled again. „Why won't I show you your bed?"

She had a bed? In a shock, she followed the woman deeply into the camp. It was mostly tents. Small camping tents. There was also few caravans and some bigger tents. The whole camp was surrounded by a fence.

They slowly made their way through the tents and stopped in front of a small red one. The woman was the first to go inside, Beth followed her. There were two beds made out of mattress. One was clearly empty, the other one was occupied by a small girl. She had big hazel eyes and long brown braided hair. Her cheek were really pink with a lot of freckles. She could be, maybe 12 years old, or so?

„Hi?" Beth was flabbergasted to see someone so young here. The woman looked from Beth to the girl and back, then she nodded. „See you tomorrow, girls." And with that she went out of the tent. The girl kept starring at Beth, but she didn't say a world. „Hi. I'm Beth?" She tried again.

„Beth? That rhymes with death." The girl curled the end of her braid in her hands, looked at Beth for a flickering moment and then looked straight into the floor.

„Thats..uhm..okay?" Beth didn't really know how to react to such a revelation so she shifted her weight from one foot to another. „What's your name?"

„Jill."

„How long have you been here, Jill?"

The little girl reached for her pillow and took out piece of paper with a couple lines that probably marked each day she had spent here. „Three months." She answered quietly.

„Are you here alone?"

She nodded carefully, look around the tent as if she was afraid someone may hear her. „I was with my brother and father. The place where we were hiding. It got overrun by smellers. I run out and they grabbed me. I yelled that my family is still in there, but they just drove away. Left them behind. I wanted to get out of here. I know I wouldn't last a day out, but I just want to be with my family."

„And they won't let you?"

The little girl shook her head. „There's no way they're gonna let anybody leave."

* * *

Beth have been slowly adjusting to the life in the camp. The words of the little girl terrified her, she was thinking about fleeing the first night, but she decided to stick around to see how things works around here. She had no guarantee that if she manage to run, she would find her family again and wasn't it better to be part of something then to be out there, completely alone?

She was always good with children and the people, running the camp, saw it too. That's why she got job as a babysitter. She had spent most of her days taking care of all the children. She didn't have much free time, mostly only before breakfast and after dinner, but at least it took her mind off her family.

Jill has been slowly opening up to her, Beth was feeling lucky that she was assigned to the tent with her, she was actually one of the very few people she started to like.

After few days, she actually stop thinking about running off. After a month though, she changed her mind. It was just after dinner. She was walking back to her tent, expecting Jill to be there, but she was nowhere to be found. Beth started to get worried, so she walked out of the tent. She wanted to go back to the dinning tent to look if she is still there, small children often helped in kitchen. But she wasn't there either.

Most of the camp was already asleep, Beth thought that if Jill was walking somewhere between the tents she would have seen her, or heard her by now. That's why she decided to go to the woman that was running the camp and tell her that she's missing.

The woman was living in one of the very few RV parked here. Beth knew, without hessitation, which one was hers. It was the only red one here. She slowly made her way up to the car. She was about to knock on the door when she heard voices inside.

„Where is she?"

„She was trying to climb over one of the walls. Jerry shoot her, before she got the chance to get out."

Beth's fist stopped few inches from the door, she changed her mind about knocking. Obviously, she couldn't know if they were talking about Jill, but in her heart she was sure they were. What are the odds of two people gone missing in the same night? But why did they shoot her? If she wanted to get out of here, why was it so important for the people, to keep her here?

„Fine. Get the body and bury it, before the night's over. We don't want people to know what happend. We'll tell them she wanted to leave so we let her."

Beth didn't stick around to find out the rest of the conversation, she heard everything she needed to hear. She got back to the tent, quickly searching through Jill's bed for some kind of explanation. Surely she would have let her a note, wouldn't she? But the only thing she found was the paper on which she carefuly marked each day she had spent here. Beth could easily tell which was the first day Jill spent with Beth. Jill started to mark her days with Beth here with different signs. Instead of lines, she made little points. That's how Beth knew she had spent here over a month.

She lied down to her own bed, reached under her pillow. Surprisingly she found a little note, she pulled it out and glared at it in shock. She was sure Jill let her some explanation, but she didn't expected to find it in her own bed. She unfolded it and looked down on the note. It was written with really tidy and small handwriting.

**'I am sorry. But I can't take it anymore. I will rather take chance out there alone, then being in here without my family. I'm sure you understand.'**

And she did. She knew exactly what Jill has been talking about. And that was the night when Beth Greene decided to run. But firstly, she would, of course, needed a plan.

Beth took a few days to look around and she come up with this. The only chance for her to escape is before dinner. People guiding the wall change after dinner and there is even more of them in the night. So she needed to take her chance when there's only few of them. That day, she rushed back to her tent, cautiously packing all of her things. It wasn't much, really, mostly her diary and knife. She wanted to take some food, but there was no way she could steal some without people noticing and she didn't need any unnecessary attention.

She stepped out of her tent and looked around. She bit her lip nervously. What if she get caught? "You can't think like that." She commanded herself as she started walking towards the big white RV. She knew this is the only place she could get some pills. She told a story about how she's not able to sleep for multiple nights because nightmares haunt her. The doctor gave her a pill and watched her swallow it. Beth of course, hide it under her tongue and spit it out, once she was pretty far away from the car.

Beth made her way to the tent with supplies where she fetched a cup of water into which she put the pill in, and then took it to one of the guiding place. She knew the boy, who was watching there. He was about her age and he tried to talk to her now and then. She was mostly rude to him, never really interested in talking, but now he was the only chance she had.

He spotted her, when she was already quite close. He shot her surprised look, but Beth didn't let him speak first.

„Hey. I came bearing a peace offering."

The boy looked even more confused. „Peace offering?"

„Yeah, you know, for how I've been treating you." She tried to smile at him, hoping she didn't look all too nervous. „It's only water, I would have bring something better, but it's not like we get coffee..or alcohol here." She tried to ignore the pain that strung her when she thought about the last (and also the first) time she had a real alcohol drink.

„Water is cool." The boy looked still confused, but he accepted the cup from her. Beth tried to smile once again.

„Sorry for how I've been ignoring you. It has been..all too overwhelming."

„Hey I get it.." The boy took a big sip from his cup. Beth started to bite her lip from nervosity. „I've been here for over a six month, but I remember how it felt the first time I was here. You have to get used to it." He now drunk almost the whole cup. For a moment, Beth was worried it may not work, but then he started to look all sleepy and he wobbled a bit.

„Are you okay?" Beth asked with, what hopefully sounded like a worried voice.

„Yeah..I guess I'm just tired and.." he didn't even manage to finish the sentence before he stumbled and fall on the ground. Sleeping.

„Well that was quick." Beth commented, as she look around. She didn't hear any screams or footsteps approaching, that was a good sign. She didn't hesitate for a moment, started climbing ladder over the wall. There was none on the other side, so she would have to jump. It was pretty high, she could really injure herself. But it was either this, or the possibility of being shot. So she jumped.

She fell heavily on the ground. Her shoulder immediately started to hurt, she could move it though, so that was a good sign, right? Beth quickly rise to her feat and she looked back at wall, then she started running towards woods nearby.


	3. Chapter 3

Even though he promised himself he wouldn't sleep. Daryl find out he actually took a little nap. He couldn't really recall the dream, but he remembered a flash of blonde ponytail and cute laugh, so he knew he was dreaming about Beth again, but it wasn't as painful as when he remembered the exact dream.

It was already morning and when he rise back to his feet he found out most of the people were already outside. There was only Sasha and Tyreese, silently sitting in one of the church chairs. He watched them for a while before he decided to go outside. He needed to talk to Rick, anyway.

It was quite sunny day, so when he first step outside the church, he needed to cover his eyes from the sudden sunlight. Daryl blinked a few times before he was able to adjust, then looked around. Abraham, Eugene, Rosita and Tara were by the bus. Abraham was trying to fix it, while the rest of them watched.

Rick, Michonne and Carl were by a meadow a bit further in front of the church. He didn't see Carol, Glenn or Maggie anywhere so he figured they probably went somewhere to find something to eat. He was a little bit hurt that Carol would choose those two to go with her, instead of Daryl, but he wasn't really a good company nowadays, even worse then he used to be, so he couldn't really blame her.

Daryl made his way to Rick and his group. Rick was watching Michonne with Carl play some game that obviously consisted from throwing rock into circle. Both of them were obviously having a great time. Daryl wasn't sure why would somebody called that fun, but then he didn't play much games when he was younger, so maybe that's why he found it stupid.

Rick turned to him when he heard footsteps approaching. He was holding Judith. She also turned and stared at Daryl's for a while. Then she mumbled something and started stretching both her hands towards Daryl. „Hey lil' ass kicker." He said with a hint of a smile, as he reached one of his finger to her and she grabbed it with her whole fist with the cutest little laugh.

„Good morning." Said Rick as he watched his little daughter.

„Hey." Daryl took his eyes off Judith and looked at Rick. „Need to talk to you."

„Alright, what about?"

Daryl looked over to Michonne and Carl, he could swear Michonne's head turned more to them and he was pretty sure she could hear them. He started walking away from these two. Rick followed him. His face was still blank, he didn't show any emotion of curiosity whatsoever.

„So..what about?" He asked again when Daryl finally stopped. He raised his head and looked at Rick, biting his lip and thinking about the best way how to address the topic. „Ain't going to Washington with y'all." He blurted finally.

Rick's expresion didn't change so Daryl couldn't really tell what he's thinking. „Daryl we are not splitting up again."

„We're already splitted up." Daryl unintentionally raised his voice a bit. „What about Beth? She maybe still out here."

It looked like Rick finally understood what this is about. „Beth.." he repeated quietly. „You wanna look for her?"

„Hell yeah."

„I could talk to Abraham. Maybe delay the journey for a few days, that will give us time to look for her."

„Us? Ain't needing your help. Can look for her on my own."

„Yeah, I know. The thing is you don't need to. I want to find her as much as you." Daryl seriously doubted that, but he didn't say it out loud. „And if we won't find her, I'll stay here with you. But we're not leaving you behind. We're a family."

Daryl didn't answered. He just blankly stared at Rick, didn't really know what to say. It looked like Rick wasn't really expecting any answer. He took Judith, trying to push her into Daryl's arms. „I'll go talk to Abraham."

He nodded, taking Judith, then he watched Rick making his way to Abraham and his group. Daryl couldn't really hear what they were saying so he made a few steps closer to them and concentrated on the conversation.

„Abraham..can I talk to you for a sec?"

Everybody from the group looked up to Rick and then back to Abraham, who was squirming his way out of the bottom of the bus to stand up.„I was just gonna go talk to ya. The car's gonna be ready so we can head out tomorrow morning."

Rick hesitated before he continued. „Yeah. That was what I wanted to talk about. Could we..maybe postpone for a few days?"

Abraham knitted his brows. „What?"

„Well..there's one girl missing from our group, we wanted to take a look if we can maybe find her."

„You realize that we have to get Eugeno to Washington, D.C. So he can stop this thing, right?"

„Yeah, but.. we can't leave her behind, so if you can't wait, you'll just have to go ahead."

Daryl noticed the change in everybody's posture. Eugene looked nervous, even more then usually, Tara was biting her lip, looking from Rick to Abraham and back. And Rosita made a few steps closer to Abraham.

„You're kidding right? Do you even know where this girl is? If we manage to get Eugene to Washington, we save everybody, including this girl of yours. What's the point of looking for her now? For all you know she may be just another dead girl walking around here."

„_**I know you look at me and you just see another dead girl. I'm not Michonne. I'm not Carol. I'm not Maggie. I've survived and you don't get it 'cause I'm not like you or them. But I made it and you don't get to treat me like crap just because you're afraid."**_ Her voice cut right through Daryl's head, bringing back memories about her again.

„_You ain't just another dead girl." Daryl blurted it out few days after they burned the house down. They were now somewhere in the middle of the forest, starring into a fire and mostly not talking. Even Beth manage not to talk for a while now, which was a bit weird. Something had changed between them. Daryl was no longer annoyed with her and Beth was...really trying. She respected that he was not very chatty type so she was talking less then usually. She still kept her diary thought. Daryl saw her writing in it there a few times. But she always quickly closed it and hide it, when she heard him coming. She wasn't singing either. Daryl felt a little guilty for all the things he has yelled at her, but he couldn't get himself to apologize._

_Beth now looked up from the fire right at his face. There was a hint of surprise, maybe shock, in her eyes. „What?" Daryl couldn't really tell if she genuinely didn't understand or if she was just flabbergasted he said that._

„_Well you proved, that you can take of yourself. Kinda."_

_She opened her eyes even wider, for a moment Daryl thought they may pop out from her head. „Did I just heard you correctly, mr. Dixon?" She mocked with a hint of smile on her lips. „You just gave me a compliment?"_

„_Ain't giving you anything, girl. Just sayin'."_

„_Well I still take it as a compliment." There was now genuine smile on her face. „And maybe you should teach me how to hunt."_

_He paused for a minute, thinking about what she was asking for. Now was not the best time. Perhaps if they manage to find some proper shelter, then he could show her some stuff, but now it was just too risky. „Maybe. Later."_

_Her smile dropped as quickly as it appeared. „Ok. Whatever." They both fell back into the silence._

_Few days later, they found a cabin in the middle of nowhere. It wasn't much. There was literally only one room and everything in it was flipped upside down. It was pretty obvious that somebody searched the place and probably took whatever was worth it. It would have been nice to find some food for a change, or just..something useful. But they had roof over their head, that has been enough for the time being._

„_I'm gonna teach you to hunt." Daryl said that night. They were laying side by side on the floor. Beth didn't speak for a moment, but he knew she was still awake. When she finally spoke up, Daryl imagine that she's trying to hide a smile. „What changed, mr. Dixon?"_

„_Dunno..guess you're ready now." He didn't want to admit to her that he thought she was ready when she first asked him to teach her, that he was just waiting for the right moment._

„_I knew you would change your mind." She said, gently bumping into Daryl's arm._

„_How?"_

„_Faith. I still have faith."_

* * *

Judith got a grab of Daryl's hair and she pulled it, which brought him back to the reality. He wanted to look down at her, and try to free his hair before she decided to torn it out of his skull, but it was an action around the bus, that eventually caught his attention.

It was pretty obvious that Abraham rejected Rick offer to postpone their journey and now they got into some sort of fight. It was Eugene who was, surprisingly, interesting in the moment. He obviously stabbed one of the tire and now he was holding another one as a hostage.

„What the hell are you trying to achieve Eugene?" Abraham looked furious, while Rick was trying his best not to laugh.

„We're not splitting up with them. We're staying here for a couple of more days, helping them to look for the girl, or I'll stab another tire."

„You realize we only got one spare, right?"

„Yeah.. so we'll have to walk to Washington."

The group around the bus felt into silence, everybody was looking at Abraham. He let out annoyed snore. „Fine. Two days. Not a day more."

Rick turned back to Daryl and smiled a bit at him. Two days. He'll have to find Beth by then, or he will have to leave his family behind. Even though Rick promised he would stay, Daryl didn't want him to. He knew Rick Grimes is gonna save the world one day and he didn't want to keep him from it. Daryl didn't want to be the one saving the world, he wasn't a hero. He just wanted to be the one to save Beth Greene.


	4. Chapter 4

Once Beth reached the woods, she started running. She knew she had one, maybe two hours of decent light to get as far away from here, as possible. There was no guarantee they would go after her, but Beth was pretty sure they're not gonna just let her leave. Although she didn't understand what was the big deal if she didn't want to be there. It's not like she could lead anyone back there. They made sure she had no idea where the camp actually lies.

Beth was glad she had so much practice in running through the woods. She was so used to it, it was not that hard for her by now. She almost never tripped and she could manage to look ahead and be aware of what was going on around her, so if Walker was somewhere around, she was confident she would have notice.

She was pushing herself to run ahead and not to stop. Eventually, when she wasn't able to continue, she just collapsed at the ground. It was already dark so she figured she can stop for a while. For a moment, she was just lying there, trying to normally breath and rest her muscles. She was thirsty and hungry. She had taken only small bottle of water, so she took it out a took a few sips before closing it again.

She manage to get herself back to her feet. Beth knew that she should probably camp here for the night, but she didn't want to loose the distance advantage she had. She didn't hear anyone searching through the woods, so that was a good sign, but it was still the best that she kept moving forward.

Beth slowed down a bit, she didn't run, mainly because she wasn't really sure she could ran anymore. Every muscle in her body hurt and she was really thirsty. She wasn't sure how, but she got through the night without anyone finding her. She haven't seen any Walker or anyone living looking for her. She stopped for a minute, to take another sip from her bottle, then she continued ahead. Her mind was so set on the goal to get away from the place, that she didn't really think about anything afterwards. What now? She realize what an absurd idea it was to hope that once she had run away, she'll be able to find Daryl in a blink of an eye.

As she continued her journey ahead, she let her mind wander a bit.

* * *

„_Here." Beth jumped as she heard his voice cut right through her thoughts. She was sitting on ground, writing in her journal. She was so concentrated she didn't even heard his footsteps approaching. She raised her head to look at Daryl._

_They've left the cottage few days ago. Beth wanted to stay, even though it wasn't much, it was still roof over their head. But there has been too many Walkers wandering around and Daryl didn't want to risk it, so they left and now they were camping in woods, again._

_Beth frowned as she was trying to figure out what did Daryl meant with the 'here'. There was nothing in his hands, except the crossbow, surely he wasn't talking about that? „Here what?" She asked, still confused._

_Daryl rolled his eyes at her and swung the bow a bit so it gently hit Beth's arm. She frowned again. „Daryl Dixon, are you giving me the crossbow?"_

„_Ain't giving you anything. Just lendin'."_

_Beth closed her diary, quickly putting it into her back pocket as she was standing up. Taking the bow with her right hand. Daryl didn't let go for a moment, so they were both holding it, once he let go of it, Beth almost dropped it. He made it look so light, she was genuinely surprised how heavy it actually was. She had to quickly catch it with her other hand. Beth felt that Daryl was staring at her and she was trying her best not to blush. „What now?" She asked._

_Daryl didn't answer, he just simply turned and started walking away from their camp. Beth followed. They didn't go very far. Just outside their camp was a tree. Somebody, Daryl probably, put carbon target on it. He stopped and looked at Beth. „Well shoot."_

_Beth raised her hands, adjusting the bow in her arms. She was about to pull the trigger, when Daryl reached to her and move it a bit down. „Now shoot." He commanded and Beth listened. She didn't hit the target, but she at least shot into the bullseye. „Not bad, huh?" She asked, not taking her eyes off the target, as she pulled the trigger again._

_She was getting better with each shot. Beth couldn't tell how long they have been standing there, shooting. But when they finished and she gave the crossbow back to Daryl, her arms hurt really badly. „Just a little bit of practise and I'll be as good as you." She said with a wide smile on her face. Daryl frowned a bit, but he didn't say anything, he just gave her his ultimate answer. „Mhm-hmm."_

_Later that day, when they were lying side by side on the ground, Beth offered to take a first watch. „Nah, go to sleep." Of course Daryl would decline, she didn't know how he did it, he almost never slept. Normal person would be completely exhausted by now, Daryl looked just fine. „You should sleep Daryl. I'll take the watch. I mean it."_

„T_old you, I'm fine."_

_There was a long silence before Beth asked another question. „Why did you lend me the crossbow?"_

_Even though it was dark, she felt that Daryl turned his head to look at her. But Beth kept staring above her. When he didn't answer, she continued. „I mean. I must be getting really good, because you told me that you wouldn't lent it to me any time soon."_

„_Mh-hm, maybe I was tryin' to cheer you up."_

_There was a long silence before Daryl answered. „Alright, so you're gettin' good in huntin'. That's why."_

_Smile crossed her lips, when she turned her head away from him. Beth really got to know him the past few weeks they have been together, she was pretty sure he was lying. He just didn't want to admit out loud, that he really did it to cheer her up. __„Daryl go to sleep. I'll take the first watch." She tried again, half expecting him to grunt something and decline her offer. But this time Daryl actually agreed. __„Alright. Whatever, if you ain't gonna sleep. I sure as hell am." She smiled again for herself._

* * *

Beth tripped over something and almost fell on the ground. In that moment, her mind snapped back into present. She was so absorbed into her daydream, she almost forgot the shitty situation she had been in. Beth looked around herself to see what she tripped over. It was some sort of rail. Probably for a train. She climbed over and looked from left to right. If she continued to follow the train rail, she could run to some people, maybe even be easy pray. But on the other hand maybe she'll find shelter there. If she gets lucky, maybe even food and water. So before she could started weighing the pros and cons of the idea, she started walking to her left.


	5. Chapter 5

Daryl didn't want to wait another day for the whole group to decide which way are they going to search and who's going with who, so he took his crossbow and headed to the woods by himself. The thing is, he didn't know where to start looking. It's not like Beth's gonna just magically appear somewhere in front of him, right?

The only thing he could think of was the hope, that whoever took her, didn't take her to Terminus. Daryl was walking somewhere into the woods, when he heard footsteps approaching him from behind. He lifted the bow and point it in case it was a Walker, but instead of it, Carol showed up. He immediately dropped the bow down. „You don't have to come with me." He grunted at her. Carol rolled her eyes. „Well I still remember the last time you went looking for someone into the woods by yourself." There was pain in her voice, but she manage to hide it very well, so Daryl wasn't really sure if someone who doesn't know her the way he does, would even hear it. „You were shot with a bullet and an arrow."

„Yeah, alright. I remember." He turned, slowly walking ahead, he gave Carol time to catch him up.

They walked in a silence for a while, before she spoke up again. „You can ask me, you know."

„Ask you what?"

„What happend, with me, Tyreese and the girls on our way to Terminus."

„Don't need to ask you that. I know what happen."

Carol sighed a bit. „No. You really don't."

„Well wanna talk about that?"

„No."

„Ain't gonna ask you then. It doesn't matter anyway."

Another long pause. „What happend. With you and Beth?" Daryl stopped and look at Carol. What did she mean by that question? Carol obviously saw the confusion in his eyes, because she tried to clarify the answer. „How did you get separated?"

Daryl shrugged and started moving away. „Doesn't matter."

Carol jogged a bit to catch up to him again. He was really hoping she would drop the issue. Daryl seriously didn't want to talk about it. „Daryl, we need to prepare for it. We may not find her."

„Yeah, we are."

„How can you be sure?"

„Dunno." He murmured. Quietly adding. „I still have faith."

* * *

_Daryl was a bit ahead of Beth, his crossbow in position, ready to shoot. Beth was trying her best to keep up with him. She never complained, which was something Daryl appreciated. He was trying to go slowly to let her catch up. Always stoping to show her even the smallest sign how to improve her tracking. She had this determined look in her face. Everytime he said something to her, she bitted her lips and slowly nodded._

„_How can you have faith?" Daryl asked suddenly. He was waiting for her to catch up and the words that she said to him a few nights earlier, just appeared on his mind. '__**Faith. I still have faith.'**_

_Beth looked up to him, she stopped few inches in front of Daryl and smiled a bit. „I mean how can you live if you don't have faith?"_

„_Life ain't givin' me much signs that we should have faith."_

_Beth shrugged and almost immediately answered. „Well, you have to look even on the smallest things."_

„_Like what?"_

„_Like right now. Right now is good. So I have faith that life can be good again."_

_Daryl just stared at the small blond girl with this big eyes, not knowing what to answer. They lost everything, and everyone they knew, he had already given up, but Beth Greene was something else. He didn't understand how can she still have faith that life can be good again, but somehow, he felt the urge to help her. To make her life better, because this girl deserves much more than this._

„_Daryl? Are we going, or what?" He snapped back from his thoughts._

„_Mh-hmm." He turned back, continuing tracking the rabbit. He felt Beth's present behind his back, she didn't speak, but he felt her breath on his neck, which distracted him a bit, but he didn't want to say anything._

_He saw the Walker approaching few seconds after Beth. She was already pulling out her knife, when Daryl reached for her and tucked her behind his back. He was holding her with one arm, so she couldn't wrest her way out of his protection and go fight the Walker by herself. He knew she was capable of doing that just fine, but as long as he was by her side, she didn't have to. He didn't have any problem taking the Walker down._

_He turned to look at Beth, realizing he was still holding her with one of his arms. He slowly drop the arm, but he didn't move an inch further from her. Beth didn't speak either, both of them were just blankly staring at each other. Daryl couldn't really tell what it was he was feeling back then. The weird twisting feeling in his stomach. But he knew that if anyone would give him hope again, it would be this girl._

* * *

Daryl let his mind wandered as they were walking side by side through the woods with Carol. She didn't attempt to talk to him anymore and neither did he. It wasn't until they reached the train rails, when he realized how far they had gone.

„We should get back." Carol said, slowly turning. But Daryl haven't moved. He was staring at something beside the rails. „What is it?"

„Somebody went through here." He pointed at the trail of footsteps he was just now looking at.

Carol walked over to him, looking over his shoulder. „That could have been anyone from us, on our way to Terminus."

Daryl slowly shaked his head. „Nah. Terminus's the other way. Somebody went through here just recently. This mornin', maybe." He looked at Carol, she was looking down at the footsteps, frowning.

„Could be anyone." She said finally.

„Yeah. Well whoever it was. They were alone. Maybe they need our help." Without any further hesitation he started walking in the direction of the footsteps. He heard Carol following him.

Of course Daryl didn't want to get his hopes up. Carol was right, it could be anyone. But small part of him wanted to believe, this trail will lead him back to Beth.


	6. Chapter 6

Beth was inevitably slowing down. She was beyond exhausted but somehow, she manage to keep going. She wanted to find some place where she could rest, at least for a while, but she couldn't find anything.

She had a luck, because she didn't run into any Walker yet. Beth wasn't sure if she would be able to fight right now. As the hours went by, she was thinking about just crashing somewhere in the woods, hoping she will get lucky and survive the few hours of rest, she so desperately needed. Then, she finally got lucky. Right ahead of her was standing a small cottage. It was just a one room place, it wasn't probably even a cottage, perhaps it was used by someone who took care about the rails. Truth to be told, Beth didn't really care. As long as she can stay there for a bit, it's fine.

She found the rest of her strength, pushing herself to walk faster and to reach the place as quickly as possible. Before she hurled herself inside, she stopped, trying to strategically think about the best way how to handle going in there. The door wasn't shut. It looked like somebody rushed out of there, didn't bother to close the door. Beth took it as a good sign, that at least nobody is staying in there. She pulled out her knife, knocking the door with her foot to wide open. Then she quickly ran inside, looking around to see if any Walker, or danger, is approaching her. But the place was empty.

Somebody left a backpack there, but otherwise, it's been absolutely clean. Beth didn't want to think about why the backpack was just sitting there and what drove his owner to rush away in such a hurry to leave this behind. She shut the door behind her, slowly walking to the backpack. Beth was hoping to find some food, may be water in it, but all she could find was a blanket and a rope. „Well. At least something." She murmured, as she stood and went to tide the door with a rope. She wasn't really good at making knots, so it probably wouldn't hold if a Walker was trying to find his way in, but she felt more secure this way.

Then she took the blanket, putting it on a ground and finally lying down. She took out her bottle, drinking almost half of it. She knew she's gonna probably regret it later, but all she could think about right now, was the hunger and the thirst she was feeling. This helped calmed both of it, at least a bit.

Beth leaned down, closing her eyes. Thinking that she's gonna just rest here a bit, before continuing ahead. Then she fall asleep.

She was having a nightmare. Her dreams took her back into the cemetary house. She was awoke from the dream with a bang. Beth opend her eyes, trying to adjust. At first, she thought that maybe she imagined that noise, but when she heard it again, she quickly raised to her feet. Panic rushed over her. Somebody was at the door, trying to get in. She was pretty sure this wasn't any Walker, which probably meant only one thing. The people from the survivor camp found her. Beth clenched her knife in hand, as she was quickly trying to find a way out of this mess, but she couldn't find one. The only way out of this place was through the door. No windows, no nothing.

She could see, through the cracks on the house, it was still light outside, she couldn't have been sleeping for long. She didn't hear anyone following her, when she run. How was possible that they found her so quickly?

With another bang the door finally give in and they swung open. Beth clenched her knife even more, preparing herself to fight, when somebody came in. Dark haired man. She thought that perhaps, she was hallucinating, she did just woken up from a dream about him after all. Then she collapsed on the ground and lose consciousness.

* * *

When she woke up again, she didn't open her eyes at first. Her body was slowly rocking back and forth which could mean only one thing – somebody was carrying her. She could felt someones hands around her legs and arms. She let her memories slowly explain what happend before she collapsed. When she remembered what had happend, her eyes snapped open. For a moment, she was staring in the face of a man, she never thought she would see again. Daryl obviously realized, she was awake, because he took his eyes off the road, looking down at Beth. He stopped.

„Put me down, please." She commanded in a soft voice. Daryl didn't question it, he slowly let go of her legs, putting her down. He still hold her shoulders, probably in case she collapsed again, so he could catch her.

„You okay?" He asked.

Beth just stared, what were the odds that of all the people Daryl would be the one to find her. „I am now." What if he was just an hallucination, Beth asked herself. „How did you find me?"

„Was lookin' for you, actually. But I didn't know the footsteps on the rails was yours. Guess it was a fate."

Daryl Dixon talking about fate? No. She must really be dreaming.

„You two okay?" Another voice cut through Beth's thoughts, she quickly turned her head to find Carol. She was patiently waiting few steps away from them.

„Wait.. what? Is this real? Are you two real? How..how are you together..?" Beth was more and more confused, turning her head back to Daryl. He was watching her with such a worried look, it made her heart skipped a beat.

„Long story." He grunted. „But Beth. This is real."

She silently turned her head back to Carol, she nodded with a smile.

„Where are we going?" She asked again. She was looking at Carol, but it was Daryl who answered.

„Back to our camp. To the rest of our family."

Beth quickly turned, losing her balance, but Daryl helped her not to fall. „Maggie?" She asked.

He nodded. „Yeah, your sis is there too."

She was too tired to walk and Daryl offered her another _serious_ piggyback, which made her smile. It was slowly getting dark, but Daryl promised it's not very far. She must have been out longer then she thought. Beth had so many questions, but she didn't ask anything. She was just quietly enjoying the feeling of safety she had only when she was with Daryl.

When they were approaching the church, that was, as they said Beth, their camp now, she asked Daryl to put her down. She was sure she could walk the rest of the journey by herself. Daryl agreed, but he was walking beside her, his hands around her waist, ready to catch her if she needed to.

Carol was the first one to come inside, Beth and Daryl slowly followed. Beth took a quick glance around. There was blood on floor, some church chairs were broken, but otherwise it looked pretty good. There was a group, sitting down, in the first two rows, it was obvious they were talking about something, but they stopped as the door opened. Beth could see a few people she haven't met before. There was some men with big mustache and some women, then she could see the rest of her group. They were all staring at her. Evidently in shock. Rick, Carl, Glenn and.. Somebody squealed. There was a bang as something fell on the ground, but Beth didn't get a chance to see what it was, because somebody was sprinting towards her. Maggie. Carol stepped aside and Beth could feel Daryl letting go of her few seconds before her sister tightly clenched her in her arms. „Oh my god Beth. You're alright."


	7. Chapter 7

When Daryl woke up the next day, he almost didn't want to open his eyes, because he was afraid that he'll find out that Beth wasn't here. That yesterday was only in his imagination. Before his mind could take him further into his doubts, he opened his eyes. It was probably still pretty early, the church was quiet. Looked like everybody was still sleeping. He was in his usual spot, Carol lying next to him. He turned his head, wanting to look for Beth, when he noticed he doesn't have to. Beth was sleeping just a few inches from him. He almost wanted to stretch his hand and touch her to make sure she's real. No. She is. She must be.

* * *

_Maggie was holding Beth tight in her arms, babbling something, while Beth just stood there in a shock. _

„_I am so sorry. I shouldn't have give up. It's my fault." Maggie's word finally made some sense and Beth could probably hear them too, because her body immediately stopped hugging her sister back and she tried to wrestle her way out of her arms. _

„_I don't understand. What do you mean Maggie?"_

_Her sister looked up to her, her eyes were all watery, she wiped the tears away. She looked almost scared as if she had already said too much. But then she continued in a soft voice. „I'm sorry. After the prison, I've been looking for Glenn, because I didn't think you could…" she didn't finish the sentence and she didn't even need to, everybody knew what she meant anyway._

_Daryl realized that he was so consumed about his own worries about Beth, he didn't realize that Maggie was hardly ever talking about her. When they found the rest of the group again in the container, Maggie asked if anyone has seen Beth and when Daryl told her they got out together, her only question afterwards was „how did she die?" When Daryl told her she's not dead, just gone, Maggie seemed really surprised „but she's alive?" She asked. That was the last time she mentioned her sister._

_Beth was now looking angry. „You thought I'm dead? That I'm weak and that I can't take care of myself?" Daryl heard a little bit hurt in her voice too. Maggie's eyes started to pour out tears again. „I'm so sorry." _

„_Cut the crap, Maggie!" She yelled so loudly that everybody in the church flinched, Maggie looked shocked, she opened her mouth to say something, but Beth cut her off before she could even start. „Well guess what! I can take care of myself pretty well!" And with that she stumbled away, to the front of the church, taking food, that Rick offered her._

_The rest of the night was quiet. Beth was obviously angry and she didn't really speak very much with anyone. Sometimes somebody told her they're glad she's back, but that was it. Maggie was sitting on the other side of the church, looking miserable. In the end, Daryl didn't want to deal with it, so he went to sleep instead._

* * *

Carefully, so he wouldn't wake up Beth, or Carol, standed up and headed for the door. He found Abraham and Rick outside the church, debating over something. When he came closer to them, they both turned their head.

„I was just telling Abraham, we should still stay here for a couple of more days, give Beth time to recover."

Daryl looked at Abraham, he was frowning, shaking his head. „No. We need to leave as soon as possible."

Daryl zoomed out as the two of them were fighting over what they should do next. When he started listening again, they were in some sort of agreement that they would stay here for another day and then leave. Abraham left to fix the flat tire and Rick was trying to give Judith to Daryl, because he wanted to tell everybody what needed to be done before leaving.

Daryl took Judith out of his arms, slowly walking to the front steps of the church, where he sit down, putting Judith on her knees. She laughed at him and immediately started stretching hands to get a hold of his hair, her favorite game by now.

Daryl was just about to try to free his hair from her grab, when somebody approached him from behind. She sat down next to him, stretching her hands at Judith. „Hey little ass kicker." Beth said with a smile. Judith let go of Daryl and turned to look at her new play buddy. She babbled something. Beth slowly took her out of Daryl's hands to her lap. He quietly watched it.

They didn't speak for a while, before Beth turned her head at him. „I never got around to thank you, for saving me."

Daryl bit his lips studying her face, before answering. „Nah, it was nothin'."

„Yeah, it was something. I was about to look for you too, in the matter of facts."

„What happen' to you?" The question left his lips before he even manage to stop himself. He didn't want to pressure her. Beth was silent for a moment, then she started telling the story, about how somebody kidnapped her, took her back to some sort of camp and how she manage to get out.

„It's my fault." He said when she stopped. Beth shook her head, putting one hand at Daryl's knee. „No it's not. It's okay. I'm here now." She opened her mouth to say something more, but she was cut off by Maggie. She quietly walked up to them, clearing her throat to make them know she's there. „Beth. Can I talk to you?"

Daryl saw how Beth's body tensed. She slowly took the hand off Daryl, lifting Judith and pushing her back into Daryl's arms before she turned to face Maggie. „Can you give me a break? I am really mad at you for giving up on me."

Maggie's eyes turned watery again, Daryl shifted uncomfortably, thinking about the best exit strategy from this situation.

„Beth.." Maggie started, but Beth stopped before she could say something more.

„Don't..just give me a time to process things, I'll be fine." Then she stormed away, leaving Maggie behind. Daryl quickly stood up, mumbling something about getting Judith back to Rick. He didn't want to stay there, mainly because Maggie would definitely started crying and he didn't want to deal with that.

Later that day, Daryl took a break from the tense situation in the church. He watched Maggie trying to talk to Beth, then trying to give her some food and he watched Beth reluctantly shaking her head everytime her sister got too close. Eventually Maggie stopped trying.  
Daryl was now leaning against a fence, enjoying one of the few cigarettes he still had left.

Few moments later, Beth appeared on the steps to the church, looking around, immediately focusing on Daryl. She walked towards him. Daryl thought about putting the cigarette down, he knew that the smoke bothered Beth, but before he could decide, Beth stopped in front of him. Biting her lips and shifting from one foot to another.

„Wanted to talk to you." She said.

„What about?"

Beth nervously pulled the end of her shirt, before answering. „What you said to me. In the funeral house, right before..." she trailed off. Adding „you know" after a long pause.

„Yeah, I know." Daryl started to be uncomfortable too, he didn't want to talk about that, but it's not like he could stop her, so he just waited for what's coming.

„What did you mean by that I changed your mind?" She raised her head to look at him, opening her eyes a bit more.

„Dunno.." Daryl shrugged.

Beth frowned and sighed. „Hm, okay. Well you know. I reacted really badly. Sorry for that. It just..you took me by surprise."

Daryl wasn't sure where she was going with that conversation, so he just said. „Mhm-hmm," while throwing the rest of the cigarette on the ground and stepping on it.

„So I wanted to tell you...that you changed my mind too."

Daryl looked up to her. „What you mean?"

„Well I never thought you could care about me the way I care about you, but you changed my mind." She explained.

Daryl was just blankly staring at her, trying to figure out what she was trying to say exactly. There was this small thought in his head, where he was wondering if maybe, she could feel the same way he does. He never really thought of it as possible, but now? Was that what she was so nervously trying to say to him? He didn't know how to react so when the words failed him, the only thing he could think about saying was.. „Oh."


	8. Chapter 8

Beth just stood there, waiting if Daryl's gonna say something more, but he didn't. He just stared at her back. She felt blood rushing through her face and she didn't want to blush in front of him, so she just turned and walked away from him, not saying anything else.

She felt really stupid. Beth had spent so many nights wondering what he meant by saying she changed his mind. In the end, she convinced herself it could only mean one thing – that he feel the same way as she does. But now? When she was rushing away, back to the church, she wasn't sure anymore. Perhaps she let her fantasy run a little wild.

Everybody in the church was on their feet, the journey to Washington was inevitably closer. Beth had repeatedly asked Rick if she can help with anything, but he always declined the offer saying she needed to rest. So this time, she walked right to the spot she usually slept and curled on the ground. She felt Maggie watching her, but her sister probably finally understood that she needs a little time to forgive her, so she didn't pressure her anymore.

She felt asleep for a while, but there has been so many noise as everybody was going back and forth around, she gave up on sleeping. Beth shifted and sat up. Her eyes scanned the room. She noticed Daryl leaning against one of the chair, he was now looking at her. Beth felt as her stomach clenched and when he started walking in her direction, she quickly untangled from a blanket she has been sleeping in, and quickly stood up. Before Daryl could reach her, she went the other direction and walked out of the church.

She looked at the bus, group of people was stacking it with supplies, Beth didn't go to them, she walked towards the fence where she, earlier that day, had talked with Daryl.

„Beth!" Daryl called out her name, it wasn't very loud, but she could still hear him pretty well, which probably meant he followed her and is now closer then she thought. She squirmed and looked behind her. He was standing just a few steps away from her.

„Hey." Beth tried to keep her face blank and her voice straight from any emotions.

„Gonna go huntin'. Wanna come?"

Beth certainly didn't want to go anywhere with him just yet, but she also knew that they're gonna spend, who knows how long, on a road together and they need to communicate. „Are you gonna lend me the crossbow, mr. Dixon?" Beth tried to mimic the easy way how she used to talk to him before, but even in her own ears, it sounded a bit weird.

Daryl shot her one of his rare smiles. „Maybe, Greene."

They had walked in a silence for a while, before Daryl stopped and look at Beth. „Sorry."

She took her eyes off the road for a while and glanced at him quickly with frown „For what?" She stopped beside him. But Beth couldn't get herself to look at him for a longer time, so she just studied her shoes.

„For not saying something..better. Before."

„Yeah, it's alright." She looked at Daryl, before turning and walking away again, but Daryl stopped her. She felt his hand on her arm, holding her so she couldn't run away.

„Nah, it's not."

Beth looked from his arm to his face. „What do you want from me?"

Daryl dropped his hand, just looking at her, not saying anything. Great. Beth had really loved this trait of his. She just wanted to angrily go back to the church, when he said. „You were right, you know. I do care about you." There was a silence, before he added, in a very low voice, so Beth wasn't sure if it wasn't just her imagination. „The same way you do."

Her mind just swirled and before she could stopped herself, she closed the distance they had between each other and leaned forward, she had to step on her tiptoes, but Daryl put one hand around her waist, trying to steady her. She heard bang as he dropped his crossbow on the ground. Their lips melted together and Beth found herself surprised that Daryl's touches are really soft.

She completely lost track of time, it could be seconds, or minutes, before they broke off from each other, still standing few inches away.

„Maggie's not gonna be very happy with us." Beth said in a quite voice, with a chuckle.

Daryl smiled at her again. „Mh-hmm. We'll figure something out, Greene."

**THE END**

**Author's note: **Thanks to anybody who had spare the time to read this. :)


End file.
